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"I thought ‘that would be great for us’ then with one minute left I got another one saying Exeter had won.

"It’s nice if someone else does us a favour, but the reality is it’s in our hands, and that’s the way I look at it because otherwise you drive yourself mad and end up chucking the TV through the window.

"Quins and Northampton are both playing really well, and Sarries may have an eye on the European semi-final, but it’s best we just concentrate on ourselves."

Buzzing around...

Dom Waldouck in action against Wasps for Northampton prior to joining Newcastle

Former Wasps favourite Dom Waldouck will be a very busy man next season.

The 29-year-old centre, who left Wasps in 2012, has signed a new contract at Newcastle Falcons and will also pursue a Masters degree and blue at Oxford University.

Waldouck, who deferred his place at Oxford when the opportunity to join Newcastle arose last summer, describes the arrangement as “a perfect situation for me.”

He will live in Oxford prior to Christmas then return from the North East for agreed study weeks in the second term, and hopes this will also allow him to face Cambridge at Twickenham in December.

Thanks to Dominic Fox, another Wasp with a Coventry connection has come to light.

Prop forward Martin Hobley played at Coundon Road for four seasons in the 1980’s prior to moving south to spend a season with Wasps.

Hobley then moved on to the Stoop, where he represented Harlequins with distinction for eight seasons, including an appearance in an extra-time Pilkington Cup final defeat inflicted by a Stuart Barnes drop goal.

Having begun his career in Oxfordshire, Hobley’s rugby life completed a full circle when he saw out his playing days as player-coach at Banbury.

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Wasps boss defends Danny Cipriani against social media criticism

Wasps boss Dai Young has moved swiftly to dismiss criticism aimed at fly half Danny Cipriani.

The former England No.10, who returned to Wasps from Sale in the summer has been a popular target for keyboard warriors following the team’s error-strewn defeat to Leinster in the European Cup quarter-final.

Young acknowledges that Cipriani’s performances have slipped once or twice, but says the social media response does not reflect the mood within the camp.

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Wasps favourites make the numbers add up

With only three rounds of regular season Premiership action remaining, a number of Wasps players feature prominently in the OPTA official stats.

Given that Dai Young’s side are top of the table, having outscored all-comers on a consistent basis over 19 rounds, it is no surprise to see that attack features more prominently than defence, or whose name crops up most regularly.

Christian Wade and Bath’s Semesa Rokodoguni, who are ranked one and two in the try-scoring charts, are also neck-and-neck in three of OPTA’s key measures.